Amnesty International launched an international letter-writing campaign against Belgium on Thursday. The human rights organization wants to put pressure on the government to resolve the reception crisis.
Amnesty calls for emails to be sent to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V). The organization provides a model letter for this purpose.
It is exceptional that Amnesty International is targeting Belgium with a letter-writing campaign, a tool that the NGO says it only uses for urgent problems. The last time was in 2006, to prevent the forced return of 12 Iranians.
Single men
“Today, more than 2,600 people, mainly single men, are waiting for shelter. This crisis has been going on for two years. In the meantime, people have to resort to sleeping on the streets or in makeshift tents out of necessity, in appalling conditions. With winter approaching, their situation will only worsen,” said Eva Davidova, spokesperson for Amnesty International Flanders.
“The situation in Belgium is particularly serious,” it said. However, according to the human rights organization, there are solutions. “An obvious measure is to activate the distribution plan, a mechanism that was enshrined in law in 2016. When there are no more available shelter places, a distribution plan is imposed on municipalities to create the necessary capacity.”
WATCH ALSO. People sleep outside in the cold on Pachecolaan in Brussels
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2023-12-14 02:22:00
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